$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Dsiggia,

I am not surprised to learn of your Supratek Cortese purchase; it will be a natural addition to your system, which is quite nice indeed. But you have a very good preamp already with the Sonic Frontiers Line 3SE. I wouldn’t expect a huge gain in sonic performance going from your current unit to the Cortese, but you will have a lot of fun doing the tube rolling I’m sure. When do you expect your Cortese to arrive? If I were to do it all over again, I would opt for the Cortese myself. Yet, I have absolutely no complaints about my Klyne. Do let me know when it arrives. What will you do with the Sonic Frontiers unit? If you can afford it, I would keep it.

Thanks for the offer on the Tom Evans unit, but I think I will either go with the Wright Sound or the K&K phono stage. I need more information on both units before I make my final decision.

No, I don’t think you’re out of line with your suggestions regarding the OL Silver. If I go with an OL arm, it will most likely be the Encounter.

By the way, I think it’s interesting that Michael Fremer had very favorable comments about the OL Encounter in a recent Stereophile review, but that tonearm was not listed in Stereophile’s Recommended List.

Chris,

As each day passes, my price sensitivity seems to be increasing, notwithstanding the recent political events affecting the White House. I told my wife the other day that Social Security for her and myself will now be either greatly reduced or non-existent. So I told her that we will need to accumulate an additional $300,000 in cash outside our aggressive retirement account savings to accommodate the spiraling health insurance costs, as well as other standard living expenses that would have been covered by SS.

In a totally unrelated event, I purchased, quite by impulse, a new Shure V15VxMR phono cartridge for $212 from Beach Audio. Normally the cartridge sells for $325, but Shure is discontinuing the unit so it’s getting dumped. Some places, however, are charging more than the going “street” price in the mistaken belief that some people will pay it.

The Shure is a very good cartridge, and is not a piece of junk per se, nor is it a world beater. Is it better than the Shelter 501? I doubt it. I have read no review to indicate otherwise. The Shure gets me in the game with little-to-no money, and will make a decent backup cartridge once the Shelter arrives sometime in the future. Its purchases like these that will enable me to put an analog system together sooner than I expected, maybe by June.

If you go with the Teres 255, I am sure you won’t be disappointed. On the other hand you may continue to long for the Galibier; it’s a tough decision I know. It all comes down to how important analog audio is to you and how much you are willing to pay for it. If you were to buy the Galibier, you would never have to upgrade again. I mean, what would you upgrade to, a La Luce? And if I were buying the Galibier, I would go for their top-of-the line unit on aesthetic grounds; otherwise, it would be the Teres 255.

And I understand your desire to get the Schroeder DPS; it’s a beautiful arm, but how much does it cost? I bet it’s a fortune, right?

I’m going to have to agree with you about the materials used for the base of the Teres. While I’m sure Doug, Twl, and others will be able to hear the differences that the various hardwoods impart to the music, I doubt whether I can. And if there were differences I could hear, I bet they would be very subtle indeed, so subtle in fact that it would be hard for me to justify the added expenditure. I feel that the more exotic woods are more attractive to be sure, but whether they are sonically superior to such an extent so that someone like myself could hear and appreciate the difference is another matter altogether.

Artar,

I expect the Cortese to arrive at the end of next week. Not that the SF is a slouch, but I'm expecting a sustantial increase in performance over the SF. If it doesn't work out I'll keep the SF, we'll see.

As far as the SF & Tom Evans, I'm sorry if you got the impression I was trying to sell them to you, just mapping out my plan.

Dsiggia,

Oops, my mistake about the Tom Evans. That's what I get for drinking wine while trying to type a e-post: I get everything all screwed up. While in that condition, why even my Bose Wave Radio sounds good! : > )

Artar,

My issue with the Galibier is that I would only be able to afford the Quattro with the PVC platter, which is no treat for the eyes. I share your concerns about the financial future and am starting to think more about a Teres. As for the arm, other threads have stated that the Schroeder can be fussy to play with and as I have little experience futzing with arms, I'm starting to think that I should explore other arms options with easier set-up and maintenance.

This upcoming weekend I will demo the Grand Prix Audio rack at home to see what I think of the whole rack since I have heard such system increases with the amp stand. I'm thinking that I want to hear what my components sound like free from mechanical effects before I start upgrading them. This will be interesting to say the least to see if it's performance on source components and my pre will be as powerful as it was with my amp! This will set back source component upgrades but what's the point if their sound is comprimised?

The pull here is to put together upgrades by next year so that when I go back to school in 2006 I am starving with blissfully wonderful music, so I go back and forth on the money thing. The future is scarily uncertain at this point, I almost feel safer having my money in components and LP's these days.

You're right about the Galibier and upgrading though the Platine La Verdier is what I was thinking I would want to be upgrading to.........

And a little voice inside my head keeps saying "Get a Graham arm, at least you'll know how to use it....."

Chris